Every few years, the department of defense (DoD) seeks to make sure all of the different fields of defense are upgraded to the highest standards possible.
This includes all of the department’s work towards the defense of the industrial base, which this certification falls under. This certification will ensure that any business in the industrial field, especially contractors, are following the highest security standards that the DoD has set.
To understand the cybersecurity maturity model certification, which was established by the department of defense affects, your business as a contractor. You first need to understand what the certification entails. The cybersecurity maturity model certification or CMMC for short is required by the department to ensure that you are following all security protocols inside your business. Your business is graded on a scale from 1 to 5. 5 is the highest grade, and getting it means you can bid on more contracts than if your business gets any other grade.
The question now is, how does the CMMC affect your day to day business? Here are some of the things that will be affected by this new DoD initiative.
Number Of Contracts
As mentioned above the grade you receive based on your cybersecurity maturity will affect how many contracts you can bid on at once. The higher your grade is, the more contracts you can get at the same time. This is because you have the necessary resources based on the requirements set by the ministry of defense. Your grade will also affect the types of contracts you get because some contracts will be listed as applicable only to contractors with certain certification grades. As a contractor, your goal will be to ensure that your business gets the highest grade there is.
IT And Information Security Support
Because the whole certification is concerned with cybersecurity maturity, meaning technology is involved in all steps required to take the certification, you need to have the necessary IT and information security support at your disposal. This may seem like a requirement that will lead to a lot of extra expenses negatively affect your profit margin, but after the certification comes into effect, you can add any charges concerning IT support and cybersecurity as costs in your contracts. This way, you are lowering expenses significantly.
No Ambiguity
This may seem like a very inconsequential impact on your business. However, it will help you significantly. Usually, companies in the industrial sector struggle with understanding what the standards the Department of Defense is evaluating them by. Having this certification will clear up any confusion that might arise when trying to stay in compliance with the department of defense’s security protocols.
Change is something that many people fear. When talking about businesses, you never want to have your livelihood fail, and change without the necessary precautions can be perceived as a risk for future failure. However, if you keep yourself abreast of what the effects of these changes are, you will have a much easier time adapting to them and making your business flourish.